Bob Seger Releases Free Glenn Frey Tribute Song

When Glenn Frey of the Eagles passed away last year, legions of fans grieved while fellow musicians mourned his death more personally. Bob Seger recorded “Glenn Song,” out now to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Frey’s death. Seger sat down with Rolling Stone to give background on the new song and their decades-long friendship, which began on Detroit’s local rock circuit in the mid-’60s.

“When [Jimi Hendrix’s 1967 debut] Are You Experienced came out, we bought it and took it to Glenn’s parents house in Royal Oak,” Seger said. “We went up to his room and played it. We looked at each other at the end like, ‘Oh my God, we’re out of a job.'”

As Frey’s health took a turn for the worse, Frey’s Eagles band mate Don Henley brought Seger up to speed—the prognosis was poor.

Despite the rawness of that loss, Seger says “Glenn Song” came together pretty quickly, and was sonically inspired by Frey’s life and music.

“I think it was take one or two,” Seger says. “It was the first song we did that day. I said to the drummer, ‘Hit it hard even though it’s a ballad and that’s a little incongruous.’ I wanted a ballad with a heavy beat because that’s the way I remember Glenn.”